Lisboa - Lagos - Porto 

 

"The deepest form of Love is curiosity" - Iordan

 

Oh, Portugal - We miss you. You have won us for Life - Why everyone loves to come back to Portugal ?? The answer we got was - this country is open to the world and always has been, history speaks for them, Portuguese have always ventured away to find new routes and make new connections, warm weather to warm people, not really expensive, soulful music, language is not a problem at all and above all really really nice people. People are the real deal in the end which is what Portuguese people believe in.

 

Our time in Portugal was work and travel. It all started in Lisboa - the capital city known as one of the best cities to be in the world. Connected to the world from all corners. We were staying in Bairro Alta - a district in Upper town of Lisboa very famous for its nightlife.

 

Our travel started with a very bad news - two travelers from India were supposed to join us for this 11-day long trip but the Portuguese embassy rejected their visa totally with no basis at all. They had signed up for the trip very long time back and the trip was actually happening because of them. Not a good thing to happen to anybody, because you feel sad and in the end, you loose money as well.

 

Time with time fills everything, All you can do is follow the road ahead and we did the same thing. So it started with Lisboa.

 

One of the most free-spirited cities - which has a blend of everything. Starting from history to architecture, Alfama district, Castles, Cathedrals, Squares, beaches, the ocean , food another big attraction and not expensive mind you, great weather, nightlife, local Portuguese music very gypsy style , fado music, small - small lanes having such amazing restaurants and above all such great people who go out of their way to help you and curious to know your culture as well. India and Portugal have a history to share and all for a reason. Past always open doors to future.

 

Travel is Lisboa was focussed more on meeting local people and living life in the city rather than visiting museums or doing tourist stuff. Portugal is a country where you have plenty of sunshine and every day most of the time you find yourself enjoying the sun which in the rest of Europe is rare. Afternoons went by listening to local bands while exploring Alfama district or Belem district or exploring the Fado side of Lisboa. The beautiful St.Jorge castle and so many Miradores ( Viewing point ) offer mind-blowing panoramic views of this city. Every night is a go out in Lisboa whether to Bairro Alta, Martinz Monez, Pink Street in Caso sedra or in Baixa; Chiado district. We were lucky to meet lovely people from Germany - Melanie an amazing person/surfer, some from Argentina, Peru and so many more. We walked away making beautiful friends from Lisboa. However, the downside in Portugal is the minimum wage for people working in regular jobs is very less which makes the people worrisome a lot but people still live life in one of the happiest ways, they enjoy what they have and share it as well. This city really showed us the value of people. 

 

Lisboa - we are friends for Life - Just stay the way you are and keep the warmth alive

 

Our next stop on our travel was Lagos in the Algarve region in the south of Portugal. Beautiful sunshine welcomed us. We were staying at the Top city hostel and the minute we entered this place - we knew it was going to be fun. I would say that for the whole of Lagos or South Portugal now after traveling. The people are very warm, they appreciate what they have and are happy with where they are. The whole world comes to them and they know the value of what they are blessed with.

Time in Lagos started with exploring the beautiful beaches and different cave locations. Every day brought a new adventure, evenings were spent cooking and meeting new people from all corners of the world. In Portugal, people eat food really late and then after that people go out for drinks. Some days went by just relaxing at the beach, writing, reading, drinking wine or beer and making new friends. It was really good and beautiful times, very peaceful. A perfect work and travel combination.

In Algarve a visit to Sagres is a must - which is the westernmost point of South Portugal from where you get the view of the beautiful North Atlantic ocean, Do mind it's super windy but worth every moment of it. Food in Algarve is just mind blowing especially the Fish. Algarve has a pull where people come and they don't leave, so many stories. We almost got a sign of not leaving. On the last day we had a barbeque party at our hostel and sadly we had to leave very early even before the sun went down at 8.00 pm. When we reached the bus station and was about to get on the bus, I realized I had forgotten my laptop in the hostel and then with no option left missed the bus went back to the hostel and was lucky enough that laptop was where I left it. Not another one. I had already lost one in Paris in 2016 However, we were back to the party and with a happy face to enjoy the rest of the party. It was great goodbye to Lagos and to all friends we made in that short time. Later the same night we head to Porto.

 

Lagos you are special and will see you again very soon.

 

Welcome to Porto was pretty huge. The day of arrival was a celebration of the Porto football team "FC Porto" winning the national football championship. What a celebration it was. The whole city was gathered at the main square and celebrated the team victory in full glory. Porto loves football to another level.

 

Porto is one of the most beautiful and laidback cities we came across in our travel. It has a very subtle life - even after Portuguese people do not get paid very high which we learned in Lisbon, Lagos and now in Porto as well but still people try to live a good overall happy lifestyle. The weather is nice as well in the North - people are friendly and very warm. They argue we are better than Lisbon.

 

During our time in Porto we did the walking tour of the city which gave us really good background of the city, to its main squares, about its people, past & present, Oldest district of Porto, parks, many viewpoints of this beautiful city, migrant quarters, Port wine, Ribera, it's bridges and a walk along the Duoro river if possible with wine from Duoro region would be great. 

 

Our time in Porto was more work, taking rest and travel. 3 days flew like a flash and our time to head back to India came. We walked away from Portugal with lots of amazing memories, friendships and a feeling of returning to this beautiful country. The people we met were really helpful and really nice.

 

Never felt you are far from home or in a different world in this country.

 

God has a beautiful plan for everyone and we feel blessed we got a chance to see this country in this small beautiful life.

 

The deepest form of Love is curiosity  - Iordan

Travel to Discover